Glut of the prawn king leads to drop in price of seafood

THE Sunshine Coast prawn fishing industry is booming thanks to abundant supplies of the blue ribbon jumbo Mooloolaba king prawn.

Trawler operators are reaping the rewards after months of wet weather forced them off the water.

It's not uncommon for catches of 600kg to 1000kg, up from hauls of between 200kg and 300kg at the same time last season.

The mini-glut has had an immediate impact on the price of the prized local prawn, which had dropped recently from around $29/kg to $23/kg - a nine-year low.

The price has settled at around $25.90/kg.

Manager at Mooloolah River Fisheries in Mooloolaba, Kristian Penny, said the bumper catches meant good earnings for trawler owners and meant tourists were able to enjoy the product at a reasonable price.

"This year has been a phenomenal year," Mr Penny said.

"Last year was good; this year is great. Some boats are doubling their catches."

Mr Penny said the bumper yields were a result of heavy rains and wild weather late last year which kept the boats at home and the prawns at sea.

"They had some three or four weeks where nothing was caught, and then they went out and absolutely cleaned up," Mr Penny said of the trawlers.

He said mullet and scallop catches were similarly affected by the weather.

However, Mr Penny feared the heavy rains in recent days would end the prawn boom soon.

"All the dirty water in the rivers and estuaries gets washed out into the sea, so the water gets dirty and brown and all the seafood will be further offshore," he said.

"The Mooloolaba king prawns are the best around. They've got a nice bright colour, firm shell, firm flesh," he said.

"We get people from far and wide coming for our seafood."

He said farmed prawns were often sold by larger super market chains as they could be sourced at a cheaper price, but he personally believed the flavour could not compare with wild prawns.